Power usage is an important factor in wireless communications, especially for mobile communication devices that have a very limited battery capacity. With on-going development of wireless technology, there is a constant effort to reduce power consumption on these mobile communication devices such as wireless handsets. Reduction of power consumption in a wireless handset may necessitate reduction in the real estate of the silicon on a chip. In addition, power consumption within the chip may need to be analyzed so that more optimal use of the power resources within a wireless handset is accomplished.
A conventional method of analyzing power consumption within a chip is by utilizing liquid crystals. In this regard, a chip may be decapped by removing the plastic cover from its top and depositing liquid crystals on the surface of the decapped chip. The chip may then be powered-up and configured to operate in a certain operating mode. Certain modules within the chip may utilize excessive power due to, for example, being turned on for a prolonged period of time. Due to the continuous or increased power consumption in such module, the liquid crystal just above the module may begin to boil and form bubbles. The boiling of the liquid crystal above the module may lead to discoloration and the appearance of “spots” over the module with excessive power consumption. In this way, the specific module with excessive power consumption may be identified under a microscope and proper adjustments may be performed on the module and/or the chip. If, on the other hand, there are no modules within the chip that are characterized with excessive power consumption, the liquid crystal hardens uniformly without any “spots” or discolorations.
While this conventional method may be effective in analyzing power consumption within a chip, it is very impractical and time-consuming since the chip has to be separated from the handset, placed on a special board, decapped, covered with liquid crystal, powered-up and then analyzed under a microscope. Furthermore, it is very difficult to effectively perform such operations while the device is in operation. Additionally, issues with power consumption manifest themselves during operation.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.